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"speaker_name": "Mr. Lekuton",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would also like to thank the Assistant Minister and Mr. Ethuro, who spoke before him. The Assistant Minister has been eloquent, articulate and to the point. I really believe that being in that Ministry, as a pastoralist himself, he has realised that there is an issue that we need, as a society, to tackle. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the issue of the Animal Technicians Bill has now become original. We must remember that as a country, we are not isolated any more. We are now a nation within nations. The East African Community has, in Article 108 of the Treaty establishing the EAC, called for the co-operation and prevention of animal and human disease. Article 105(24) provides for joint programmes for control of animal and plant diseases and pests. This cannot be achieved without capacity building of our animal technicians and control of animal diseases. The Minister is dead right on the answer that we need a change. I would like to thank him for accepting that there is an issue and a problem. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Director of Livestock Services has in the past made allegations that animal technicians are not qualified to diagnose and treat the animals. Well, I beg to differ. The objective of training these young men and women of Kenya is to make sure they have the capability and ability to diagnose and treat animals. The statement is totally unacceptable. In the ongoing vaccination around the country, the surgeons charge between Kshs200 and Kshs500 while the standard rate is Kshs50. Farmers are paying ten times the price. In other words, it is fleecing of the poor farmer in Kenya. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I do understand that the Minister has these issues in his heart. The fact is that many times the Government policy and legal framework are changed from time to time, and the fact that there was a legal framework by the Ministry of Livestock in 1999 and it stalled in 2003--- This is an important industry. Starting and stalling of policies and legal frameworks cannot be accepted any more. We need to take this Motion very seriously and December 03, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3815 make sure that our country production, which is going down, goes back to where it was before the advent of the Structural Adjustment Programmes which were introduced by the World Bank and IMF. Today, butchers are increasing Kshs40 per kilogramme of meat. Again, I would like to tie this to the Animal Technician Bill because we do not have enough production or quality meat because we do not have enough people to take care of that livestock in Turkana, Laisamis, Marsabit, Dujis and everywhere. We need these people to make sure that when we have this livestock, we have enough production. If Kenyans, today, pay close to Kshs100 for a 2 kilogramme bag of maize and tomorrow they pay over Kshs100 for a kilogram of meat, we are heading to dangerous situations. Just to highlight a few points, we have over 6,000 unemployed youth who are trained by the Government and NGOs who are totally competent. They are staying at home and doing things they are not supposed to do because they have not been licensed. We need to give these people employment. I appreciate what the Minister said that 150 people were employed this year. We have 6,000 unemployed youths and the Ministry is employing 150. I appreciate the small number employed. I think it is a positive step. I would like to call upon this House to look at these issues: First, on the issue of unemployment, we should give these people the power of free enterprise so that they can start their own businesses because they are qualified. We should not deny Kenyans a chance to start their own private businesses when they have been trained. Kenya is known within the East African Community as a nation that excels in private enterprise. Let us give them that chance to make sure it happens. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, let us not lose our livestock because of diseases which could be easily detected by animal technicians who are spread across this country. Livestock should be taken more seriously as a mode of production and a main contributor of GDP in this country. I call upon this House to rise to the occasion and be part of the solution. This Motion is long overdue. We keep losing livestock and businesses when we have unemployment. Let us be part of the solution instead of creating a time bomb of youth unemployment. This is the time for this House to rise to occasion and leave a legacy of having contribute towards containing unemployment in this country. With those few remarks, I thank you for giving me the chance to contribute. I beg to move."
}